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Arrieta solid, Ford doubles twice as O's beat Blue Jays

Nolan Reimold was productive in his lone month of play in 2012, and while he may show rust in '13, there's a good chance he'll produce

By Gregor Chisholm
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MLB.com |

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Lew Ford hit two doubles while the Orioles scraped together two runs off J.A. Happ to secure a 3-1 victory over the Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon at Florida Auto Exchange Field.

Ford sparked the movement that led to Baltimore's first run of the game. With one out in the first, Ford doubled to center and eventually came around to score on an infield grounder by Nolan Reimold.

Baltimore struck again in the second as Taylor Teagarden and Danny Valencia recorded back-to-back doubles to give the Orioles an early 2-0 lead. Those were the only two runs Happ would surrender as he managed to throw 3 2/3 innings while giving up four hits and striking out six.

Happ continues to enjoy a strong spring despite the fact he is expected to begin the year at Triple-A Buffalo. The veteran lefty has now surrendered just four runs on 17 hits over 13 innings of work.

Right-hander Jake Arrieta enjoyed an impressive outing for the Orioles as he held the Blue Jays scoreless over 4 2/3 innings. He allowed just three hits while walking three and lowering his spring ERA to 2.38.

"Today was the best sequence day I've had, start to finish, in a long time," Arrieta said. "Not just this spring, but since I can remember, with the way I mixed my pitches from my slider to my curveball, then mixing those in around good-located fastballs. They didn't square anything up, and I think that's because I mixed my pitches so well."

Toronto closer Sergio Santos returned to the mound following a week-long absence with a sore right triceps muscle and threw one scoreless inning. Right-handed setup man Steve Delabar also enjoyed a scoreless inning of work and allowed just one hit.

Infielder Maicer Izturis was one of the lone bright spots on offense for the Blue Jays. He recorded two singles and is now hitting .235 after suffering through a slow start to the Grapefruit League season. Utilityman Mark DeRosa added a sacrifice fly in the sixth and now has seven RBIs this spring.

Up next: The Orioles will break into a split squad Sunday, with one hosting the Twins at 1:05 p.m. in Sarasota while the other travels to Clearwater to take on the Phillies at the same time. Both games will be available on MLB.TV. Expected Opening Day starter Jason Hammel will take the mound opposite Phillies starter Roy Halladay in the road contest. Meanwhile, right-hander Steve Johnson will get the start against the Twins, as he continues fighting for the final spot in Baltimore's starting rotation.